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Monarchs win in overtime

Published On: Apr 07 2013 07:52:33 PM EDT

WORCESTER, MA -

Monarchs Press Release:

The Manchester Monarchs earned two valuable standings points as they battle to make the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs by defeating the Worcester Sharks, 4-3, in overtime at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester (32-31-3-4) is in third place in the Atlantic Division with 71 points. Worcester (29-31-3-6) is in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with 67 points.

“We sure do seem to find new and exciting ways to keep fans in the seats,” said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris. “Our focus waned from time to time this afternoon. We got careless a few times and it nearly bit us. We took the two points and yet we surrendered one back to Worcester by giving up a goal with less than two seconds in the third period. This game should have been won in regulation. We need our guys to be more resilient at critical times. As players gain more experience, they eventually realize less is more.”

Defenseman David Kolomatis scored the game-winning goal at 1:50 of overtime. Left wing David Meckler fed the puck to Kolomatis at the center point. Kolomatis wristed a shot that was blocked and he was able regain possession as he skated to the top of the right wing face-off circle. Kolomatis wristed a second shot with this one beating Sharks netminder Harri Sateri high over the stick side shoulder for the goal. Left wing Hunter Bishop also tallied an assist on Kolomatis’ seventh goal of the season.

Defenseman Andrew Campbell opened the scoring in the game with a goal at 12:12 of the first period giving the Monarchs an early 1-0 lead. Kolomatis started the breakout out of the Monarchs zone with a pass to right wing Brandon Kozun on the right wing in the neutral zone. Kozun carried the puck into the Sharks zone and down to the right wing half wall before firing a pass across to Campbell at the left point. Campbell settled the pass on his stick and took a slap shot that beat Sateri for his second tally of the season.

The Sharks tied the game at 1-1 with a goal by left wing Riley Brace at 5:36 of the second period. Center Freddie Hamilton fed Brace in the neutral zone on the right wing. Brace skated in on a 2-on-2 break. Brace skated to the top of the right wing face-off circle before cutting across the ice and wristed a shot beating Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones for the goal. Defenseman Dylan Demelo also tallied an assist on Brace’s first professional goal.

Center Jordan Weal regained the Monarchs lead with a power play goal at 9:31 of the second period making the score 2-1. The Sharks controlled a face-off in the left wing face-off circle in Worcester’s zone. Kolomatis prevented a clearing attempt by knocking the puck out of the air at the left point. Kolomatis then chipped the puck down the left wing boards to Weal. Weal circled around the top of the zone and skated into the right wing face-off circle as he shook off defenders and wrested a shot high over the stick side shoulder of Sateri for his 14th goal of the season.

The Monarchs opened up a 3-1 lead after right wing Brian O’Neill’s tally at 17:39 of the second period. Left wing Marc-Andre Cliche took a wrist shot in the right wing face-off circle producing a rebound in the left wing corner. The puck bounced off the end wall and out toward the left wing half wall. Defenseman Nick Deslauriers skated down from the left point and grabbed the loose puck firing a pass to O’Neill on the right doorstep. O’Neill redirected the puck into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

The Sharks pulled within a goal at 3-2 with a power play goal by right wing Daniil Tarasov 17 seconds into the third period. The Monarchs dumped the puck into the Worcester zone where Bishop gave chase behind the Sharks net. Bishop carried the puck and chipped it back to the neutral zone but the puck caromed off the wall. The puck got behind the Monarchs defenseman and created a 1-on-1 foot race for the loose puck. The Monarchs defenseman won the race and chipped the puck away from the Sharks attacker. Tarasov grabbed the loose puck in the high slot and wrested a shot past Jones for his 12th goal of the season.

The Sharks tied the game at 3-3 with a goal by Hamilton at 19:58 of the third period. Brace took a feed from defenseman Derek Joslin on the left wing. Brace gained the Monarchs zone and skated down before flipping a pass to Hamilton inside the left wing face-off circle. Hamilton got the puck to his forehand and wrested a shot past Jones for his 11th goal of the season.

Jones (21-25-4) earned his 22nd victory of the season making 26 saves on 29 shots. Sateri (14-19-3) took his loss of the season stopping a 19-of-23 shots faced.

Manchester went 1-for-4 on the power play. Worcester went 1-for-8 with the man advantage.

Notables: Monarchs center Jordan Weal is on a three-game goal (3g) and point streak (3-2=5)…Monarchs defenseman David Kolomatis registered a goal and two assists for three points.

The Monarchs return home to take on the Connecticut Whale at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. Catch all the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGIR 610 AM, WGIR.com and at www.manchestermonarchs.com, presented by Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

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